show off your DIY wheels !

[flybear]

I thought I start a thread about wheels - DIY or modified ...

I just build two bucket wheels for my bins - the first out of a IKEA microwave cover, the second out of a cut off bucket - both have their pros and cons ...

I used the plastic part ( bucket or cover), a rollerblade wheel, a few small screws to attach the plastic bin to the wheels, a 1/4 - 3 inch machine screw, one hex nut, two washers and a wing nut - not as nice, heavy duty or fancy as the beautiful bucket wheels from Carolina Storm Bucket ( I have one and can only recommend it ) but they work. Can't tell anything about durability or wear yet of course ...
Unfortunately the Carolina storm buckets don't fit in my bins height wise so I needed wheels with a slightly smaller diameter - the bucket is around 9.5 inches, the microwave cover slightly under 11

[ebrequus]

That's pretty creative! Have you used the cover wheel? It looks like it might be easy to slide out of.

[flybear]

That's pretty creative! Have you used the cover wheel? It looks like it might be easy to slide out of.

Yes both are hamster tested and approved - my hamsters are used to saucers and they are slanted - i thought they would maybe spin out but they don't...

[HammieandMerlin]

I love bucket wheels, my OH and I made one for Winnie when we adopted her as an "in between" wheel while we ordered a Wodent Wheel. Ended up keeping ours instead, it was way quieter haha. Yours are much prettier than ours, that's for sure

[flybear]

love yours - looks very professional!

[flybear]

I can't resist posting an action shot of our newest family member on the wheel - works perfectly - the piccolo sized hammy seemed very content on the wheel - wheel is silent and even though he is used to a saucer he exclusively ran on the bucket ( can't help but feeling a little proud heehee )

[SinNyx]

Those are all great! Very creative and they look amazing :)

I would love having a go at making one but I have no idea what I would use for a stand.

[HammieandMerlin]

PVC pipes are the easiest things, and they're cheap too!

[flybear]

I just drilled a hole into my bin and hung them between two washers- would work the same on a cage - it is a bit more bouncy than on a stand but very space saving and the hamsters can't tip it over ... Because the buckets are so smooth I just wipe them with paper towel so I don't even have to worry about taking them off for cleaning